1.12.2011

Thai Kitchen has some pretty great Thai food, and not just for Simi Valley standards (North Hollywood isn't that far away, after all). I tried my three favorite Thai dishes--papaya salad, pad kee maw with beef, and pad Thai with tofu to see how they measured up.

The papaya salad was the one dish that didn't impress me--for the price, I felt that it wasn't a lot of food. The tomatoes were of the mealy, refrigerated variety--which is usually the case with restaurant tomatoes--and, for my taste, there were too many different veggies and not enough papaya. Also, while I appreciate the use of fresh rather than dried shrimp, and I know that shrimp aren't cheap, it would have been nice to get more than one shrimp in my salad.

Pad Kee Maw

The pad kee maw was not quite as spicy or as flavorful as the one from Krua Thai--I don't think any pad kee maw will ever beat Krua's. And I like mine with mint, which this version didn't have. I also thought it could use more meat and red bell peppers, but overall, it was still a tasty dish that I would order again.

Pad Thai

The pad Thai was really spectacular--totally comparable with Krua Thai (my standard of Thai food, in case you hadn't noticed). Best of all, you have the option to order it spicy--and they will actually make it lip-tinglingly spicy if you ask. I also thought this dish was a good value for the price--I could easily make two meals out of it for $8.

However, it was only totally spectacular on my first visit. On my second visit, I guess another cook was in the kitchen, and the dish wasn't as good as the first time. I still plan to go back, though, in the hope that my third experience will match my first.

Thai Kitchen doesn't offer much in the way of ambiance. It's located in an unattractive shopping center and the interior is pretty blah. This restaurant appears to do mostly takeout and delivery business. Thankfully, they are very quick to prepare meals for takeout and they have a low delivery minimum--just $15.

Overall, I think the service, food, and prices are all better than average and I would recommend Thai Kitchen.